Thanks so
much Ali. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it. I’ve been nominated every year now
in different categories and this year I got 5 nominations! The contemporary rom
category was the one I really *did* want to win but the field for it was
amazing and I felt for sure The Rosie Project would win. I was soooo freaking
excited when they read out my name. J

2: HOFAH was more edgy and
much longer than your category romances - what made you decide to write
something a bit different?

I
actually wrote HOFAH quite a few years ago now and it was one of those books
that had really bad timing – the industry for romcom/chick lit had died, the
GFC had hit. It was universally loved but the climate made it a really hard
sell. So I put it away. But the characters kept calling to me and a lot had
changed in the industry in the last couple of years so I thought I’d give it
another go round. I didn’t really decide to write something different. It was
just the story in my head and I went with it. To be honest, I hadn’t really planned on it
being longer or edgier. Initially it was just a story about Jake helping Ella
to save her school through the one thing she despised more than anything -
football. And then all these other characters butted in and demanded their time
on the page and suddenly I had this book with all these threads! A house to
save, a brother to rescue, crazy circus aunts and a dominatrix best friend, a
cocky young bartender, ghosts from Jake’s past, buried treasure, a blue ribbon
political hopeful, a journo on the trail of a story….I honestly didn’t know
what had hit me! But any writer will tell you that you ignore that kind of
stuff at your own peril. So I went with it. And I’m so pleased I did.

3:
As a Mills & Boon writer, you oscillate between Modern Tempted and Medical
romance... What's the best thing about each imprint?

I love
the sass and the sexiness of the KISS (MT) line, I love its metropolitan feel and
its flirty banter. The Medical line can and does have all that too but I think
it’s the emotion that underscores it the most. I also really love how it
supports a variety of sensuality levels – from closing the door, to ripping it
right off its hinges, there’s something for everyone!

Vintage
makes me sound like I’ve been doing this for 50 years! J I honestly don’t think
you’ll find much of a change. I think the more category books you write, the
more comfortable and intuitive you get about the line you’re writing for and
how and when to push the envelope. And hopefully I’m still not using the same
phrases over and over. J I think people will find my earlier stuff lacks a bit of the
humour I’ve put in my later medicals. I was often asked to tone it down early
in my career which I did, but I think it gets back to that whole being
comfortable thing again – I know my groove now, I know how I like to write and
my editors have been supportive of that.

5:
A couple of years ago you co-authored Sister Pactwith your real sister - how
difficult is it to write with a sibling?

I had, hands
down, *the* best time writing with my sister. We’re very close and very
alike in many ways (although we look very different) so it was no hardship to
write with her. Our mother thought it was bound to end in disaster but if
anything, its strengthened our relationship. The best part was when a new
chapter would ping into my inbox and I’d sit chortling away at what Ros had
written and be so incredibly excited to sit down and write my chapter. There
were no arguments. There might have been the odd recalcitrance over keeping the
odd word or two (usually me) but Ros was an absolute pro. If something wasn’t
working for me or if I had an issue with something, she just fixed it. And oh
my, we laughed. so. hard. It was an absolute blast. J

6:
And finally, what delights are you currently working on?

It seems
that I’m always drowning in projects…. I’m currently working on my second Bold and Beautiful book for Momentum, after that its another medical (I’m doing a
nurse as the hero and the heroine as a doctor, never done that before!!) and
then after that I’m writing a slightly paranormal romcom involving a cadaver
makeup artist and a PI who have to work together to solve the disappearance of
a baby (have NO idea where that one came from!) Later in the year I’m working
on another KISS continuity with Heidi Rice, Kelly Hunter and Lucy King. It’s
tentatively titled Fairytales of New York and we’re all very excited about it! J Oh, I’m doing some
finishing revs on the second Sister Pact book, my first Brazen (No More Mr Nice
Guy) and a romcom called Risky Business that’s out with Escape in July.

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About Me

Ali Williams grew up in Croydon and spent her teenage years in a convent
girls' school. She then fled to university where she discovered
champagne cocktails, a capella singing and erotica.

These days she blogs
about perceptions of romance, chick lit and women in society and spends
an extraordinary amount of time coercing male friends to pose with her
favourite Mills & Boon books to the bemusement of the Twittersphere.